Team GB’s diving squad made an early splash at the Paris Olympics after Britain ’s first-ever gold-medal-winning diver, Jack Laugher, revealed he supplements his income by posting semi-nude photographs online. “Yes, I try and make extra money,” Laugher said of his account on OnlyFans , an adult-focused content subscription service. “Obviously, I’ve got something people want, and I’ll happily cash in on that.
I’m a bit of a hustler and I want a bit more money if I can [get it].” To those who imagine winning Olympic glory is its own reward, the admission was treated with shock and horror. For the more pragmatic, however, the real headline was just how little Olympians earn – perhaps making an OnlyFans side hustle worth pursuing.
“The funding [in diving ] hasn’t changed,” Laugher explained. “When I first went on [in 2011], it was £21,000 ($45,894) for the top eight in the world. And at the time, as a 16-year-old, I was buzzing.
But I’m almost 30 now, I’m top three in the world, and it is £28,000 a year.” Liveable though it may be, a yearly salary of £28,000 falls short of what an average 30-year-old makes. Median pay as of April 2023 for 30-39-year-olds was £37,544, according to official statistics from the House of Commons library.
In that context, £28,000 per year hardly keeps pace with other workers of Laugher’s age, not least when one considers the hours worked. According to Laugher’s teammate Tom Daley , in the run-up to the Olympics, divers train for upwards of eight hours per day, six days per week..
